Duncan Selbie’s Friday message – 11 January 2019

The NHS Long Term Plan was printed this week, which has a ten 12 months reform agenda with prevention and population health at its coronary heart. There are new, funded actions on tobacco management, assist for these most closely depending on alcohol, heart problems and from early years to dementia and far else.

This has concerned a collective effort by many throughout the general public well being household, working with NHS colleagues and I need to say a giant thanks for that.

We wish folks to dwell more healthy lives, to make use of the NHS much less and later in life, to have the ability to keep in work for longer and when they’re unwell, to remain in their very own house for longer. It is a public well being narrative now shared by the NHS with sensible costed actions. Additionally it is an agenda for strengthening private accountability alongside nationwide and native motion, and the place prevention turns into more and more personalised, making optimum use of digital platforms and behavioural science.

Native authorities have now been accountable for commissioning public well being companies for 5 years and have introduced appreciable talent and ingenuity to enhancing outcomes and saving cash, each obligatory with reductions within the public well being grant.

The rationale for native authorities to steer on public well being stays unchanged, however the NHS plan has requested whether or not there’s a stronger position for the NHS to play in commissioning sexual well being, well being visiting and faculty nursing. This work shall be led by the Division of Well being and Social care to make sure now we have the very best be a part of up between the NHS and native authorities and that resourcing is correctly thought of by the spending overview. Native authority administrators of public well being will convey invaluable experience and perception to this.

In different information this week, our indicators present that flu is now circulating in England. We’re at the moment seeing a pressure referred to as A(H1N1)pdm09, that usually impacts working-age adults and youngsters. The excellent news is that this pressure is effectively matched to the strains within the flu vaccines for this season and uptake in pre-school age kids is at its highest ever. Nevertheless, charges of vaccination amongst eligible adults together with pregnant girls are barely decrease than latest seasons. It’s not too late to get vaccinated and doing so protects different folks.

The brand new UK Measles and Rubella Elimination Strategy was printed on Wednesday, mapping out how we are able to obtain a future freed from measles, rubella and congenital rubella syndrome (CRS), which may result in severe delivery defects. Because it was launched within the UK in 1968, it’s estimated that the measles vaccination has averted 20 million measles circumstances and 4,500 deaths and the rubella vaccine has averted an estimated 1,300 CRS births and 25,000 terminations. It is a phenomenal public well being achievement. You possibly can learn extra about measles in our blog.

And at last, this week PHE knowledgeable the general public that two cases of extensively drug-resistant gonorrhoea have been acquired, one within the UK and one in one other European nation. Each circumstances confirmed comparable patterns of resistance to each first line antibiotics used to deal with gonorrhoea, which could be very regarding. Whereas each circumstances had been efficiently handled, they function a reminder that prevention is preferable to remedy.